(SOLVED) Studio 1558 | ATI/AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5470 | Black Screen Problem

Hello, users. First of all, sorry for my english. This post is to tell you my experience with this very know problem and how I solved it.

Computer specifications:

• Dell Studio 1558 (bought in 2010)
• Intel Core i5
• 4 GB of RAM
• ATI/AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5470
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bits

Problem:

1. The problem started with the common error "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered...".
2. This was followed by several BSOD, associated to the video card (atikmpag.sys file).
3. Finally, after a couple of weeks, the laptop screen turned black, but the laptop was still in operation.

Considerations:

1. Is not a display problem.
2. Is not a driver problem.
3. Not even a video card problem.
4. It is a manufacturing problem, where the video card soldering is ruined because of overheating.
5. DO NOT LET TECHNICIANS TO REPLACE YOUR DISPLAY OR MOTHERBOARD.

Solution:

1. Take your laptop to a specialized technical service, and ask to do a "reballing process", which consists of desoldering, cleaning, and soldering again the video card.
2. This process requires the correct equipment, which is a high-precision infrared soldering machine. DO NOT LET TECHNICIANS TO USE A HEATING GUN.

Well, this is all I have to tell. I did this process and I have my laptop working better than ever. The costs of reballing, at least in my country, are very low compared to a motherboard replacement. For reballing it is 120 dollars, and for a motherboard replacement it is around 500 dollars.

I'm very dissapointed with Dell about this issue. Hope my comment is helpful.

Regards,

Ignacio Vallejos